Letters to the editor: Oct. 13

A matter of style in vice president debate

The arguments made during the vice presidential debate will be forgotten in a few hours.

The impressions given will last much longer.

Vice President Joe Biden was loud, rude and arrogant. If that's what it takes to be considered the winner, he won hands down. GOP candidate Paul Ryan came across as a little nervous, but respectful, well-informed and capable.

We'll see which style pays off in the end.

David Cantoni

Monticello

Give Obama a chance to clean up this mess

President George W. Bush on Feb. 13, 2008, signed a stimulus bill to give rebates to most American families. Remember those checks? Some $168 billion worth because the economy was and had been on a downturn due to banking practices and the housing bubble.

Congress at the time was considering other rescue measures in transportation, unemployment aid and to address the housing crunch. The package was designed by both parties so they would not get blamed if the economy worsened.

The economy is the most important concern in this election. The economy did worsen as Bush and the Congress then feared. They passed it on to President Barack Obama. The downward economy had already started. It does take time to correct.

Go to your computer. Check out CNNMoney.com's bailout tracker. They report the total given in the Obama stimulus and what has been paid back.

Give Obama the time he needs.

Kathie Kiser

West Lafayette

Don't give Obama a senator from Indiana

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." While those words apply to President Barack Obama's re-election bid, they also could describe the contest between Joe Donnelly and Richard Mourdock for Indiana's senator.

As elected officials, they each have records by which they can be judged.

Take Donnelly, for instance. During Obama's first two years, when the Democrats held both the House and the Senate, Donnelly was a reliable vote for Nancy Pelosi as she and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid drove through a massive stimulus bill that rewarded Democratic constituencies, but did measurably little to help the overall economy. Further, Pelosi and Reid drove through Obamacare against the protests of voters, using legislative chicanery to win - with Donnelly voting "aye."

Mourdock, Indiana's treasurer, was responsible for protecting the investments of various Indiana pension funds, which held many GM and Chrysler bonds of indebtedness. When Obama and his czar, in contravention of law, took over the GM and Chrysler bankruptcy process, they disregarded the claims of the bondholders, which by bankruptcy law are first to be paid, and placed the UAW first instead. Mourdock stood against them, as he was sworn to do, even though vilified in the press.

Do we really want to send another reliable vote for Reid's party-line obstructionism, under which no budget has been passed for three years, or do we want to return the Senate to constitutional principles and the rule of law?

The choice is clear to me.

John H. Smith

Battle Ground

All of that fuss over a little girl's doll

I was saddened by an event I witnessed in Lafayette on a recent weekend. I had dismissed recent problems as issues that were present simply on campus or isolated events that were disturbing, but that were not truly depicting our community. I have changed my mind.

On a Sunday morning at a restaurant, I saw a couple with their young daughter waiting to be seated. Their daughter was playing with a doll, which happened to be African American. Yes, a little white girl was playing with her black baby doll. There were a series of glares, muttered asides and stares. I personally sat next to an older couple that was debating on whether to call this couple on their "inappropriate" choice of toy and how "nasty" it was. Either the couple with the little girl did not notice or they did not care. However, I was left very upset.

I have no idea why this little girl had that particular baby doll. Maybe she was liked the movie this particular doll stars in. Maybe it was a present. Maybe it was an attempt to begin to foster a sense of acceptance of diversity at an early age on the part of the parents.

Whatever the reason, I just had to write in and say how pathetic I think it is that a toy could illicit such a reaction and what that says about how far we have yet to come and how far we have to go.

Elizabeth Cannes

Lafayette

Agree, but concerns about a V.A. hospital

I agree with an Oct. 8 letter that the vacant Home Hospital would be great for a V.A. hospital. My only concerns would be staffing requirements. That could be a problem that would have to be considered. Would there be enough doctors, specialists and nurses to handle the influx of patients? Good idea, though.